Specialist police unit marks seventh anniversary by crashing through £315m savings barrier

• Banking sponsored police unit saves in excess of £315 million through financial fraud prevention work
• More than 335,000 compromised cards and card numbers recovered

The Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) – the specialist police squad that tackles cheque and card fraud crime in the UK – marks its seventh anniversary on Wednesday (29 April 2009).

The DCPCU was launched on 29 April 2002 as a two-year pilot and, following the successful conclusion of this trial, it was established as a permanent Unit with an ongoing brief to help stamp out organised card and cheque fraud. The Unit is fully sponsored by the banking industry and comprises officers from the Metropolitan and City of London police forces who work alongside banking industry fraud investigators.

Since its inception, the DCPCU has:

• Achieved more than £315 million in savings from reduced fraud activity
• Recovered more than 45,000 counterfeit cards
• Recovered just under 290,000 compromised card numbers
• Secured 240 convictions on fraud related matters.

Detective Chief Inspector John Folan, who leads the DCPCU and is a serving City of London police officer, said:

“The Unit’s track record over the past seven years speaks for itself. Our work continues to seriously disrupt the organised gangs responsible for this type of crime and, when coupled with fraud prevention savings in excess of £315 million, it is clear that the DCPCU has become a powerful asset in the fight against fraud.”

In the past year the DCPCU has also benefited from the work of the Payments Industry and Police Joint Intelligence Unit (PIPJIU), which was set up In March 2008. The PIPJIU is an enhanced intelligence unit that uses a secure and robust reporting mechanism to gather information on fraud, which is then analysed and shared as appropriate amongst banks and police throughout the country.

Sandra Quinn, director of corporate communications said:

“The banking industry is delighted by the continuing success of the DCPCU. Their outstanding work provides an excellent example of how a joint public/private partnership can work together. Not only does the Unit stand on its merits as a successful model for other countries to follow, but it provides real benefit when tackling the organised criminal gangs behind financial fraud."

Interviews with DCI John Folan, head of the DCPCU, and Sandra Quinn, director of communications are available on request.

ENDS

For further information contact:

T: Jemma Smith 020 7711 6340 / Mark Bowerman 020 7711 6251 / Michelle Whiteman 020 7711 6316 E: press@ukpayments.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1 The Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) is a squad of specialist police officers and civilian staff set up in April 2002 to tackle the organised gangs responsible for much of the UK's card and cheque fraud. It is fully sponsored by the banking industry to the tune of approximately £5 million per year.
2 The Payments Industry and Police Joint Intelligence Unit (PIPJIU) was officially launched on 10 March 2008. It is an enhanced intelligence unit - the result of the amalgamation of the banking industry’s Fraud Intelligence Bureau (FIB), the body that formerly distributed information between the banking industry and law enforcement throughout the UK – and the intelligence section of the DCPCU.
3 The City of London Police Force is the acknowledged lead force within the UK for economic crime investigation, and is dedicated to preventing and investigating fraud at all levels.